D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

The Competitors: Kress, Borgick, Midnight, Stan, Ellenell 

The Assistants: Blue, Marigold, Carl, Gareth, Burgandy

--- Borgick & Marigold ---

"Soooo… like, what's the plan here?" asked Marigold, putting on an accent to make it seem a as if her intelligence had dropped several levels. She'd dropped into a blank stare while chewing on some of her hair just to get the point across. 

"How the heck should I know you daft elf? Just because I'm a dwarf doesn't mean I've got experience building stuff. Besides, sand is basically a waste product! I don't ask you if you know how to grow trees using sawdust!" insisted Borgick. 

Marigold's gaze turned sharp as she glared at Borgick with some heat, "I DO in fact know how to grow trees using sawdust. It's not the best material for most of them, but for a few? It works wonders. Now, perhaps that was just a bad example, but don't you practically grow up surrounded by stone? Surely you know more than me?" insisted Marigold. 

"Look lass," said Borgick with a sigh. "I was never one for stonemason classes. I barely listened when they showed us how to mine and carve out the walls. I always had a knack for the blacksmithing side of things. How do you think I maintain my cannon? Certainly don't have anyone else for it. The fact I can keep it working without a forge and through a large amount of nonsense on adventures? That's a talent most don't have. So of course, now? I my talents don't lay in SAND!" 

"Look Borgick, I'm not trying to make you mad here, but you're the one in charge. I'm happy to help. I don't care about getting dirty, or doing embarrassing things. Heck, if you turn me into part of the sculpture I'll be having the time of my life. Especially if it's a heavy load I'm holding. That being said? I have negative artistic talent and I've never built a sandcastle in my life. Well… that might be a lie, but I've certainly not built any in the last decade," said Marigold. 

"Then why on Earth did you volunteer lass?" asked Borgick with a sigh. 

"Oh that's easy. Midnight is out on account of already being in the contest, Vanya would've tried to take over the project after you annoyed her, Burnice would've turned you down if you'd asked her. She's nice enough but if sand gets in her burns…" Marigold winced, "Yeah she's not into pain like I am so… not her scene. As for Mauve? Honestly, she might've been a decent choice, but I decided I wanted to help so I jumped the gun on her," 

Borgick just groaned into his hands. He didn't know anything about sandcastle. He didn't know anything about fancy designs. He knew how to make cannons dammit!

Borgick paused. "Huh… Marigold? I have an idea that's just crazy enough to work…" 

--- Midnight & Carl ---

"So… got any ideas?" asked Midnight. 

"We could build a big sandcastle?" offered Carl. 

"Yeah but… CAN we build a big sandcastle?" returned Midnight. 

Carl pondered for a bit. "Well it's not like we'll know if we can or not if we don't try," answered Carl. 

Midnight tapped his foot on the sand a few times as if the ground would suddenly open up and reveal its secrets. When no such secrets were revealed Midnight sighed. "I can't help but feel I was perhaps, not the best choice for this round. Sure it was a mystery, so we didn't KNOW I was a bad choice… but I'm not exactly much of an artist, and my magic leans more towards darkness magic. Sometimes I think I have illusion affinity as well… but other times I just don't seem to get it. Still, that might just be my lack of artistic talent," 

Carl shrugged and said, "Look man, you can't know if you'll be good at something till you try. If we fail… well there's always the other games. Your team is doing pretty well today. Sure it was a bunch of second places… but that's still pretty good. So if this fall through? I don't think they'll be upset," 

Midnight rolled his eyes, "I doubt anyone of them would complain. Burnice is here more for the experience then the prize. Marigold is here more for the experience as well, even if people would tell you she's here to show off for the elves. I'm here because I want a magic teacher and… I don't really know what Mauve's deal is…" said Midnight with a sigh. 

Carl didn't ask about the fact Vanya's name wasn't on the list. Her reasoning seemed pretty obvious and he felt it best not to bring it up. "So… we try to build a castle then?" asked Carl. 

Midnight sighed, "Yes, I suppose we do," 

--- Stan & Gareth ---

"Would winning here be more likely to impress Kress or is he competitive? Should I just throw the round somehow? Not that I think I'm going to win if I try. This isn't really my area of expertise," rambled Stan. 

Gareth just stared at Stan for a few seconds. "Is… is that why you wanted me on your team?" 

"Yeah? Of course it is?" said Stan trying not to sound like he was talking to an idiot. "Sure the earth magic you use is an amazing excuse, but I've got barely any skin in this race. If I could trade a win or two for a date with Kress? Well... hook me up brother!" 

Gareth just rubbed his temples as he tried to work out what the best thing to do here was. Frankly? He had no idea how to deal with this. It's not like he'd talked to Kress about his best friend's love life recently. Gareth kept rubbing his temples, the headache he could feel building didn't seem to want to go away. Was he supposed to play wingman? Help Kress get together with someone that was clearly interested in him? Was he supposed to defend his friend's virtue? "Dammit I should've talked to Kress about this nonsense," mumbled Gareth under his breath. 

Stan pretended not to hear so he could ask again, "So… what do you think I should be doing?" 

Gareth let out a long sigh and decided to err on the side of letting Stan do what he wanted. If Kress was mad about it later? To bad, his friend deserved a chance at love. Who was he to say Stan wasn't that guy? Gareth wasn't exactly optimistic, but he wasn't going to be roadblock. "If you'd asked me a few weeks ago, heck even just a few days ago… I'd be telling you to let Kress win somehow. That he'd be happier to show off… now though?

"I think he'd enjoy the competition. He seems to have picked up an affinity for sandcastles recently. Not that he'd never gotten into the hobby before… it's something that comes and goes I think, but he's really developed a fondness for them this time around. I think trying properly and failing will be much more impactful then throwing completely. If you win? Then you can use that as an excuse to hone your technique together. Can probably still do that if you lose," 

Stan's smile widened. "Thanks Gareth. I'll take the advice… but how exactly does one build a sandcastle? Besides the obvious?" 

Gareth's face dropped. Suddenly, this seemed like a much harder task then it had been just a few moments ago. 

--- Ellenell & Burgandy --- 

"How much of your magic do you think will be allowed in our structures?" asked Ellenell. 

Burgandy gave a shrug and said, "How should I know? It's probably something we should've clarified with Thyme. I mean… it could be anything from 'it just needs to look like a sandcastle' to 'if you strengthen the sand too far you're out'. Then again… Thyme ISN'T a judge so perhaps even they don't know where the line would be drawn. Perhaps it'd be ALLOWED but not necessarily… good for our final point total," 

Ellenell nodded slowly in understanding. "Right… I suppose I can understand that. We'll need to consider just what we're building and how much we want to lean on your stone. I'm think we might as well try. It'll give as a unique edge over the competition. If it fails? Then we have still tried," 

"Hey, Gareth's on Stan's team. I might not be totally unique…" offered Burgandy. 

Ellenell waved Burgandy's concerns away. "Stan's greatest interest is getting into Kress' pants for some reason. I'm not sure how much we even need to worry about that team. I doubt they'll be making major use of Gareth's powers, so much as Stan will be trying to wring out as much information as they can from Gareth's brain," 

"Right… so what were you thinking of making?" asked Burgandy. 

Ellenell sighed, "Well… it might seem cliché but part of me really wants to make a large treehouse. Perhaps a few interconnected ones. Using your earth as a base, we can pack on wet sand to the sides and make it seem like a more impressive structure then it is. I'm not sure how large we should go… or if it's a good idea. If you're willing though?" 

Burgandy nodded slowly, "I think it's a risk… but I'm willing to try. It is very cliché though. Are you trying to play into the elf stereotype for some reason?" agreed Burgandy. 

"Ah excellent, glad you're onboard," said Ellenell with a smile. "As for if I'm leaning into things? Not so much… but it IS a stereotype for a reason,"